CAPE TOWN - The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Mcebisi Skwatsha on Monday announced that his department will assist the displaced families from the farm Klein Akker in Kraaifontein and accommodate them at a state farm near Stellenbosch.
Approximately 263 people, including children and the elderly, from 93 households were left homeless and destitute after they were evicted from the farm.
Their eviction was as a result of a court order issued by the Western Cape High Court, instructing the City of Cape Town to provide temporary emergency shelter in the form of land and emergency housing kits.
On Monday morning, the deputy minister visited the displaced people and witnessed the “inhumane” conditions they are living under for the past week.
“As leaders, we cannot just fold our hands while people living on the streets. We have a responsibility to take care of the people, especially at these difficult times like this one,” he said.
As part of the national government’s intervention, he announced that the State farm Mesco is readily available to accommodate these people as quickly as possible.
They are going to be temporarily accommodated on this farm while a permanent solution is sought, the department said.
“As leaders, we cannot just fold our hands while people living on the streets. We have a responsibility to take care of the people, especially at these difficult times like this one,” he said.